Fraud claim hits Renaissance boss

Millionaire businessman Oleg Kiselev has resigned as chairman of investment bank and brokerage Renaissance Capital to fight allegations of fraud.

Mr Kiselev has denied the charges, which were brought last week and relate to transactions in shares of a metal ore extraction and processing plant.

Calling the charges completely false, Mr Kiselev said he was stepping down to clear his “good name”.

He added that Renaissance was not linked to the charges in any way.

Russia has been looking into a number of business deals as part of a crackdown on fraud.

One of the most high profile cases has involved Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the founder of oil and gas firm Yukos and once Russia’s richest man.

Mr Khodorkovsky was recently sentenced to eight years in jail after being found guilty of tax evasion and fraud.

The cases have often proved controversial, sparking strong emotions among critics and supporters.

Some have complained that they are little more than politically motivated witch-hunts, while others applaud the fact that authorities are finally taking action on white-collar crimes.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Kiselev said that he had “voluntarily resigned, effective today, from all positions that I previously held with the Renaissance Capital group of companies”.

He continued that the charges are against him are “completely false and none of them relate in any way, shape or form to the business or operations of Renaissance Capital”.

“I have chosen to step down in order to focus all of my efforts on clearing my good name,” he added.

Press reports have alleged that Russia has issued an international warrant for Mr Kiselev’s arrest in relation to an attempt to take control of iron-ore producer Mikhailovsky GOK.